Summer managed to mostly slip away without any blog updates. I'll try to cover all of our doings but not be too lengthy.
We got most of our settling in done right away before we went to work, instead of spreading it out for weeks in the evenings after work. We appreciated having our space sorted out while we figured out our jobs and new/new-again surroundings. The apartment complex we live in is brand new. Though prospects for fun neighbors seemed high at first, we have been disappointed. I guess Sarah and I are scary.
Our Montana reception in June was great fun. My parents and sister, Courtney did a fine job organizing and getting all the neighbors and friends there. Catching up with that many people is tough, but Sarah and I were glad to try, and happy so many could be there, including her parents, brother Nick, and grandparents Eddy and Marilyn.
Sarah faced a learning curve at work due to the new role in pediatrics. She has mentioned multiple times that St Pete's has been great for on-boarding, and is more comfortable all the time.
I've faced a learning curve also, taking on the bulk of the dealership daily work right before hay season started. Service work seemed manageable compared to some years I can remember. I have been fortunate to be able to get out and do demonstrations with types of equipment that have not been around our part of the world before, namely tedders (hay fluffers) and large trailed mowers. I enjoyed showing off just how different Vermeer's equipment is, and appreciate open-minded customers.
Dustin Monat made our August by riding his motorcycle all the way up from Pella to see us. He only had to do a little Vermeer work, and I hope we entertained him sufficiently for that long a ride. It was great to see him! Just a reminder: any and all are welcome to come see us.
I have not done any braiding all summer due to not having a clean shop space. I did, however, have another go at making rawhide with the hide off one of our heifers who is making a timely trip to the freezer. I learned some things, and got a small amount of usable material, but have some things to try differently next time. Montana's dry air proved helpful compared to Iowa's humidity.
We've made a point to get outside during Montana's relatively short summers. Besides day hikes around Helena, we've backpacked into Lake Edith by Townsend and Lake Agnes by Dillon. Both were overnight trips. We'd like to get in a couple more trips before winter. We're also preparing to enjoy winter activities more than we were able to in the midwest.
As hay season slows down, I'm looking forward to not travelling quite so much, proactively drumming up service work for the winter, and organizing, organizing, organizing. There is much cleaning up to do of 35 years-worth of shop stuff that "might be needed" someday. A certain 68-year-old rancher yelled at me for throwing a nine-year-old phone book away, while he held his Samsung S5 in his hand. I may not invite him to clean-up Kaizens.
We've done some of the preliminary work on our house renovation project, but have not swung any hammers or shovels yet. We have good direction thanks to the recommendations of Eric Easton, a handyman/builder/renovator from Helena. We'll keep plugging along with that great big project for the foreseeable future. A big thank-you is due to all the friends and neighbors that have already contributed!
That's a decent glossing-over of our recent activities. We'll see how exciting our early fall is.
8/22/16
6/5/16
Bye Pella
In our effort to cram as many life changes into a short time as possible, we have also been planning the move back to Montana along with the wedding and honeymoon. The spring wedding was needed because of our desire to be married before we left for Montana. In any case, we've condensed many things into the months of April and May.
Sarah and I both finished work on May 20th. The preceding weeks had been busy for both of us, not the coast-out, over-it-already type of weeks everyone else expected. I attempted as much knowledge transfer as I could, getting crash courses on sales and marketing topics while documenting what I could on what I had done and tidbits that I thought could help my fellow engineers. I really don't know whether that collection of information will be useful to anyone or get glanced at and then forgotten, but it made me feel like I'd maybe done some good and learned some things in my time at Vermeer.
As a parting gift from my department, I was given a framed picture of myself with a finished trailed mower that is about to be launched. I worked on that project three years ago before being moved to the biomass projects, but I appreciated being included on the development team pictures. The matting on the picture had been signed by everyone in the department.
We had several gatherings the last couple days of work, topped with one for the ages at our house on the evening of the 20th. You know it's a good night when unwanted couches are sacrificed, dump trucks make loops around the section road (sometimes with reels of fire crackers the box), single pant legs are lost, and coats are ruined by roman candles, among many other highlights. It's a good thing we don't move very often.
We loaded everything up in a fifteen-foot Uhaul on the evening of the 23rd with the generous help of many coworkers and friends. After returning from Iceland, we started downsizing and packing, but as is the case with most people, when packing and loading were done, we did not feel we had downsized enough, but we made it work. I don't think a single member of the crew was not surprised that everything fit into the Uhaul, my truck, and Sarah's car.
We headed out the next afternoon, a bit late because of cleaning. Pulling a loaded truck on a trailer behind a loaded-to-the-brim Uhaul is slow going; I had tire trouble that evening, and we had only gotten north of Omaha. I was impressed by Uhaul's customer support though, and it was fixed an hour after calling them at 8pm. The next day only got us to Spearfish after eleven hours of driving. We stayed in KOAs both evenings, tenting it, and had no trouble. Sake the cat didn't enjoy herself at all the entire trip, but I wouldn't blame her.
We pushed hard the third day and made it home after another eleven hours of driving, with several stops along the way. The usually 20-hour drive took us about 28 hours of drive time due to frequent fuel stops in a tiring rig, and by not going much over 70. If I ever do that drive again, doing it in a comfortable vehicle will make it seem easy.
After getting in late on Thursday night, we looked right away in Helena for places to live, and signed for a place Saturday afternoon, then moved our stuff in that night. We are living in Helena for now for the sake of Sarah's commute being easier, having a transitional period where I'm not living at work, and because we plan to update my grandparents' house on the ranch and would prefer to not live amidst a renovation. We spent the next three days unpacking, grateful to not have employers demanding we go to work (too much). We've been settling in ever since, and Sarah starts at St Peters in Helena as an occupational therapist on the 6th.
I've spent two days at the ranch so far, doing mostly dealership work, and my dad and I haven't fired each other yet.
I have to admit that leaving Pella was one of the hardest things I've ever done. I thought I'd be home for a month or two before I wondered why I left Vermeer, but it was actually closer to the second Pella exit on our way west. Coming back to Montana was always the long term plan, but actually doing it was more of a leap than I would have expected it to be, had you asked me three years ago. The reality of the change has been sinking in: I left a stable, comfortable job to come back to a more volatile, dangerous, and more on my own lifestyle. It shouldn't take too many reminders of the best parts of it to bring me back around though. Sarah being game for anything means a lot too.
Thanks again to all our Pella friends for helping us pack up, and for making our time there great! We will see you again soon!
Sarah and I both finished work on May 20th. The preceding weeks had been busy for both of us, not the coast-out, over-it-already type of weeks everyone else expected. I attempted as much knowledge transfer as I could, getting crash courses on sales and marketing topics while documenting what I could on what I had done and tidbits that I thought could help my fellow engineers. I really don't know whether that collection of information will be useful to anyone or get glanced at and then forgotten, but it made me feel like I'd maybe done some good and learned some things in my time at Vermeer.
As a parting gift from my department, I was given a framed picture of myself with a finished trailed mower that is about to be launched. I worked on that project three years ago before being moved to the biomass projects, but I appreciated being included on the development team pictures. The matting on the picture had been signed by everyone in the department.
We had several gatherings the last couple days of work, topped with one for the ages at our house on the evening of the 20th. You know it's a good night when unwanted couches are sacrificed, dump trucks make loops around the section road (sometimes with reels of fire crackers the box), single pant legs are lost, and coats are ruined by roman candles, among many other highlights. It's a good thing we don't move very often.
We loaded everything up in a fifteen-foot Uhaul on the evening of the 23rd with the generous help of many coworkers and friends. After returning from Iceland, we started downsizing and packing, but as is the case with most people, when packing and loading were done, we did not feel we had downsized enough, but we made it work. I don't think a single member of the crew was not surprised that everything fit into the Uhaul, my truck, and Sarah's car.
We headed out the next afternoon, a bit late because of cleaning. Pulling a loaded truck on a trailer behind a loaded-to-the-brim Uhaul is slow going; I had tire trouble that evening, and we had only gotten north of Omaha. I was impressed by Uhaul's customer support though, and it was fixed an hour after calling them at 8pm. The next day only got us to Spearfish after eleven hours of driving. We stayed in KOAs both evenings, tenting it, and had no trouble. Sake the cat didn't enjoy herself at all the entire trip, but I wouldn't blame her.
We pushed hard the third day and made it home after another eleven hours of driving, with several stops along the way. The usually 20-hour drive took us about 28 hours of drive time due to frequent fuel stops in a tiring rig, and by not going much over 70. If I ever do that drive again, doing it in a comfortable vehicle will make it seem easy.
After getting in late on Thursday night, we looked right away in Helena for places to live, and signed for a place Saturday afternoon, then moved our stuff in that night. We are living in Helena for now for the sake of Sarah's commute being easier, having a transitional period where I'm not living at work, and because we plan to update my grandparents' house on the ranch and would prefer to not live amidst a renovation. We spent the next three days unpacking, grateful to not have employers demanding we go to work (too much). We've been settling in ever since, and Sarah starts at St Peters in Helena as an occupational therapist on the 6th.
I've spent two days at the ranch so far, doing mostly dealership work, and my dad and I haven't fired each other yet.
I have to admit that leaving Pella was one of the hardest things I've ever done. I thought I'd be home for a month or two before I wondered why I left Vermeer, but it was actually closer to the second Pella exit on our way west. Coming back to Montana was always the long term plan, but actually doing it was more of a leap than I would have expected it to be, had you asked me three years ago. The reality of the change has been sinking in: I left a stable, comfortable job to come back to a more volatile, dangerous, and more on my own lifestyle. It shouldn't take too many reminders of the best parts of it to bring me back around though. Sarah being game for anything means a lot too.
Thanks again to all our Pella friends for helping us pack up, and for making our time there great! We will see you again soon!
5/13/16
Iceland: Our thoughts
After being back for a couple days and telling our stories to our friends and coworkers, both of us have boiled down what our impressions of the trip and of what we thought of Iceland.
Iceland is full of wonderful natural sights. We had gone there expecting to almost be tripping over things to see, such as waterfalls, geysers, caves, volcanoes, glaciers, lava, and hot springs. We were to some degree, especially in the western peninsula. I have to recommend going there just to see the otherworldly geology and unbelievably dramatic landscapes. Many of the views could have been out of Lord of the Rings.
Unfortunately, we were also tripping over other tourists. Our hope had been that the island would still be an unknown destination, but it is absolutely true that Iceland's tourism industry has exploded the last few years. Over half of the fellow travelers on our flight to Reykjavik were young backpackers. The south coast had been very busy and many of the cars on the road had been tourists. Reykjavik had been positively crawling with them, and it isn't even their high season yet; I cannot imagine how swamped it is in mid-summer. It was also harder to pin down any sort of character that Reykjavik had, because all we could see were tourists and tourist traps. This is just a fact of the matter at present, but we couldn't help but be disappointed in not having more to ourselves.
One of my favorite aspects of traveling is being around completely new people and ways of life. Both of us found Icelanders to be hesitant to engage tourists, and tended to stick to themselves. When asking a question, I wasn't called stupid, but the Icelanders' tones rather suggested it. These two traits came off as abrasive, whether it was truly the case or not. There are a thousand reasons this could be, such as the people's views on tourism, my questions legitimately being stupid, or the particular person's day. This was just a first impression after only being there a week, but I wasn't as endeared to Icelandic culture because of this and don't have much desire to go back. This is not the case for any of the other countries I've been to, including places I've had much tougher times.
We only came across one Icelander who spoke no English. Most others spoke very good English, even better than their Icelandic or so they claimed. We heard many languages there, which is always fascinating. A good portion of the tourists were Americans, but most countries in western Europe were also represented, along with several Asian countries.
Farming is very common there. I saw no row crops, likely due to the short season. They cut a lot of grass for forage, the lion's share of it being silaged. I expected to see lots of sheep, and did see a few small bands; cattle were sparse, and horses were everywhere. Horse rental to tourists is very common, but I can't imagine a few tourists a day would warrant the fifty head herds we often saw. Horse slaughter is legal in Iceland, and it is even served in restaurants, so I suspect some may be raised for meat, though I cannot confirm this. I wanted to try it, but was unable to find it in my few searches.
After arriving, we needed a hot breakfast to travel on, but learned another reality quickly: Iceland is expensive. A not fancy or particularly good breakfast with coffee cost us $35, and blanched us a bit. We stopped at a grocery store in Selfoss and stocked up on sandwich supplies, yogurt and granola for breakfasts, and other snacks to make meals more reasonable and to allow for some flexibility if we were hungry between stops. We got into a groove after a meal or two, but couldn't help but feel a little like I was letting my new wife down by taking her on a honeymoon but only buying her sandwiches.
We didn't eat out a lot, but we found that, hold tight with me here, Iceland's hotdogs are quite good and they are proud of them. It sounds like an oxymoron, but fancy hotdogs are easy to find in both gas stations and out of food trucks.
Iceland produces quality dairy products, especially yogurt. We started most days with a Skyr yogurt with granola mixed in. One can be fooled though: at breakfast at our first hotel, I spooned myself a bowlful of what I thought was yogurt, but turned out to be buttermilk. I was very close to being turned off Icelandic yogurt had Sarah not read the sign and informed me after I'd tried it.
Iceland has a small beer industry, and what they make is respectable. We didn't explore this thoroughly, but we both had Viking, Gull, Kaldi, and Tuborg varieties, and were generally satisfied.
Our last dinner there, we decided to have a good, hearty, Icelandic meal to end the trip on. At a cafe by our hotel, overlooking the harbor and the north Atlantic, we were lost in Icelandic lobster, shrimp, scallops, and mussels to start, Sarah had a substantial fish called Place, and I had Minke whale, because I could. All were delicious. The whale was a red meat, and had I not known it what it was, I'd have guessed it was lamb.
I enjoyed the cars there. I recognized many European brands I'd seen on other travels, and like pointing out differences between the versions America gets compared to the rest of the world. The cars in Iceland are heavily European, but there were many American trucks there. I would suppose this is because of the need for farm use, and also for off-roading and driving on glaciers.
I had seriously considered renting a diesel Toyota Hilux, the version of the Toyota Tacoma that the rest of the world gets, because they are at the top of my favorite vehicles in the world. I am glad that we didn't in retrospect because they would not have offered a good backup sleeping option far from hotels, and they would have been thirstier in a country where diesel was $5.75 a gallon. Iceland was also curiously the only place in the world I've been where they have both Hiluxes and Tacomas. We both loved our little Dacia. It was comfortable, had plenty of room for our stuff, had a snappy little diesel, had four-wheel drive for the couple times we needed it, and had folding seats for room to sleep in it.
All this paints a rather mixed picture, but maybe that's the point, and a good lesson to learn on a honeymoon.
It's OK to be a pansy about camping in winds strong enough to blow a tent away.
There are people out there who aren't what you expect.
There are party crashers out there who show up without you inviting them.
There are people who mean well, but will crash your party anyway by doing the exact same thing you're doing.
Life is expensive if you aren't careful, but that's another critical line to toe: to be careful, but not cheap.
Pull off the road and take a look more often.
Feel lucky to be married to someone who is on the same page as you on every subject: someone that appreciates adventures, the unknown, experiences over things, and finding situations you never expected and will likely never see again. We both knew this wasn't going to be a pre-planned, doze on the beach, all-smooth sort of trip, that's exactly what we wanted and got, and we were happy to have each other.
Iceland is full of wonderful natural sights. We had gone there expecting to almost be tripping over things to see, such as waterfalls, geysers, caves, volcanoes, glaciers, lava, and hot springs. We were to some degree, especially in the western peninsula. I have to recommend going there just to see the otherworldly geology and unbelievably dramatic landscapes. Many of the views could have been out of Lord of the Rings.
Unfortunately, we were also tripping over other tourists. Our hope had been that the island would still be an unknown destination, but it is absolutely true that Iceland's tourism industry has exploded the last few years. Over half of the fellow travelers on our flight to Reykjavik were young backpackers. The south coast had been very busy and many of the cars on the road had been tourists. Reykjavik had been positively crawling with them, and it isn't even their high season yet; I cannot imagine how swamped it is in mid-summer. It was also harder to pin down any sort of character that Reykjavik had, because all we could see were tourists and tourist traps. This is just a fact of the matter at present, but we couldn't help but be disappointed in not having more to ourselves.
One of my favorite aspects of traveling is being around completely new people and ways of life. Both of us found Icelanders to be hesitant to engage tourists, and tended to stick to themselves. When asking a question, I wasn't called stupid, but the Icelanders' tones rather suggested it. These two traits came off as abrasive, whether it was truly the case or not. There are a thousand reasons this could be, such as the people's views on tourism, my questions legitimately being stupid, or the particular person's day. This was just a first impression after only being there a week, but I wasn't as endeared to Icelandic culture because of this and don't have much desire to go back. This is not the case for any of the other countries I've been to, including places I've had much tougher times.
We only came across one Icelander who spoke no English. Most others spoke very good English, even better than their Icelandic or so they claimed. We heard many languages there, which is always fascinating. A good portion of the tourists were Americans, but most countries in western Europe were also represented, along with several Asian countries.
Farming is very common there. I saw no row crops, likely due to the short season. They cut a lot of grass for forage, the lion's share of it being silaged. I expected to see lots of sheep, and did see a few small bands; cattle were sparse, and horses were everywhere. Horse rental to tourists is very common, but I can't imagine a few tourists a day would warrant the fifty head herds we often saw. Horse slaughter is legal in Iceland, and it is even served in restaurants, so I suspect some may be raised for meat, though I cannot confirm this. I wanted to try it, but was unable to find it in my few searches.
After arriving, we needed a hot breakfast to travel on, but learned another reality quickly: Iceland is expensive. A not fancy or particularly good breakfast with coffee cost us $35, and blanched us a bit. We stopped at a grocery store in Selfoss and stocked up on sandwich supplies, yogurt and granola for breakfasts, and other snacks to make meals more reasonable and to allow for some flexibility if we were hungry between stops. We got into a groove after a meal or two, but couldn't help but feel a little like I was letting my new wife down by taking her on a honeymoon but only buying her sandwiches.
We didn't eat out a lot, but we found that, hold tight with me here, Iceland's hotdogs are quite good and they are proud of them. It sounds like an oxymoron, but fancy hotdogs are easy to find in both gas stations and out of food trucks.
Iceland produces quality dairy products, especially yogurt. We started most days with a Skyr yogurt with granola mixed in. One can be fooled though: at breakfast at our first hotel, I spooned myself a bowlful of what I thought was yogurt, but turned out to be buttermilk. I was very close to being turned off Icelandic yogurt had Sarah not read the sign and informed me after I'd tried it.
Iceland has a small beer industry, and what they make is respectable. We didn't explore this thoroughly, but we both had Viking, Gull, Kaldi, and Tuborg varieties, and were generally satisfied.
Our last dinner there, we decided to have a good, hearty, Icelandic meal to end the trip on. At a cafe by our hotel, overlooking the harbor and the north Atlantic, we were lost in Icelandic lobster, shrimp, scallops, and mussels to start, Sarah had a substantial fish called Place, and I had Minke whale, because I could. All were delicious. The whale was a red meat, and had I not known it what it was, I'd have guessed it was lamb.
I enjoyed the cars there. I recognized many European brands I'd seen on other travels, and like pointing out differences between the versions America gets compared to the rest of the world. The cars in Iceland are heavily European, but there were many American trucks there. I would suppose this is because of the need for farm use, and also for off-roading and driving on glaciers.
I had seriously considered renting a diesel Toyota Hilux, the version of the Toyota Tacoma that the rest of the world gets, because they are at the top of my favorite vehicles in the world. I am glad that we didn't in retrospect because they would not have offered a good backup sleeping option far from hotels, and they would have been thirstier in a country where diesel was $5.75 a gallon. Iceland was also curiously the only place in the world I've been where they have both Hiluxes and Tacomas. We both loved our little Dacia. It was comfortable, had plenty of room for our stuff, had a snappy little diesel, had four-wheel drive for the couple times we needed it, and had folding seats for room to sleep in it.
All this paints a rather mixed picture, but maybe that's the point, and a good lesson to learn on a honeymoon.
It's OK to be a pansy about camping in winds strong enough to blow a tent away.
There are people out there who aren't what you expect.
There are party crashers out there who show up without you inviting them.
There are people who mean well, but will crash your party anyway by doing the exact same thing you're doing.
Life is expensive if you aren't careful, but that's another critical line to toe: to be careful, but not cheap.
Pull off the road and take a look more often.
Feel lucky to be married to someone who is on the same page as you on every subject: someone that appreciates adventures, the unknown, experiences over things, and finding situations you never expected and will likely never see again. We both knew this wasn't going to be a pre-planned, doze on the beach, all-smooth sort of trip, that's exactly what we wanted and got, and we were happy to have each other.
5/12/16
Iceland: the Honeymoon Adventure
Sarah and I returned from Iceland the evening of the 10th, where we spent a week for our honeymoon. We arrived there the morning of the 4th, rented a Dacia Duster (small, diesel, Ford Escape-sized SUV), and drove to the south part of the island, then worked our way north and west toward a western peninsula, spending our last day and a half in and around Reykjavik before flying out on the 10th.
We had decided on Iceland for our honeymoon because it would be an adventurous, largely outdoors trip, they speak English, and it would be less likely that we would be able to travel there later in life.
Our first day took us from Keflavik airport southeast along the coast, past two large waterfalls. We arrived at our hotel mid-afternoon, exhausted after not really sleeping on the five-hour overnight flight and from hiking a couple miles during the waterfall stops.
For our second day, after a stop at the black sand beach at Vik, we worked back north toward the "Golden Circle", or group of popular natural sights within an hour or two from Reykjavik. These included Gulfoss Waterfall, large geysers at Geysir, thermal pools at Laugarvatn, and the wild geology at Thingvellir National Park, where we car camped. We had planned on tent camping, but the wind, temps in the 30s before windchill, and icy rain scared us too much. Luckily the Dacia's rear seat could fold down, and we spent the night relatively comfortably in our sleeping bags.
We roamed around Thingvellir first thing on the 6th. The fault line between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates is visible here, and it is a fascinating canyon. We drove toward the west coast from here, stopping in the small towns of Akranes and Borgarnes. The latter had a well-done settlement museum of Iceland's early history, when it was colonized by Norwegian Vikings. We continued north along the coast into the peninsula, looking for a campsite to stay in for the night. Most of them are not open until June, so we settled in the evening and called it a night.
The 7th was my favorite day of the trip. We got coffee in a small cafe in a tiny town called Arnarstapi toward the end of the peninsula, looked off its cliffs, and headed around the bend toward Vatnshellir lava cave. On this drive, we were distracted by an abandoned farmstead, cliffs, and a volcanic crater. In this part of the country, we would drive only a couple miles before we needed to pull off the road and see something else. At loose ends after finding the road to our next stop at a glacier still closed for the season, we headed toward the small, charming fishing town of Stykkisholmur. After seeing it's volcano museum, we inquired at a hostel about a room for the night and were happy to grab one to ourselves after two nights car camping. We were due for showers, and I couldn't quite stretch out in the Dacia. It was a good decision.
The next day took us to Reykjavik, with a stop in between at a noticeably unmarked waterfall. We had not seen any other natural landmarks that had not been well signed. Reykjavik has several museums and a large church that seems to also serve as a tourist landmark. We tried out a large thermal pool, and began to understand why these are to Iceland what the pubs are to Ireland: a central gathering space. We stayed at a perfect, and almost unbelievably priced Airbnb close to downtown. We stayed out late that evening, visiting with a couple from Minneapolis on a similar trip, and with an Icelandic lawyer with much more right wing opinions than I expected in a Scandinavian country. It was our latest night of the entire trip: even in early May, dusk isn't until 10:20, but it was still duskish at midnight.
Our last day, we saw the Culture House museum, which featured aspects of Icelandic history shown through art. Had we understood this better, we may have appreciated it more, but such as it was, much of it was over our heads. Fortified with a cup of coffee, we wandered the shops until we were due to head for the Blue Lagoon, Iceland's best known thermal pool. After our relaxing soak in its silica mud out in the one fully sunny day of the trip, we headed to our hotel in Keflavik, found our one large splurge meal of the trip, packed our stuff, and got ready for the trip home.
With the itinerary laid out, I will continue thoughts on the trip in a post to follow.
We had decided on Iceland for our honeymoon because it would be an adventurous, largely outdoors trip, they speak English, and it would be less likely that we would be able to travel there later in life.
Our first day took us from Keflavik airport southeast along the coast, past two large waterfalls. We arrived at our hotel mid-afternoon, exhausted after not really sleeping on the five-hour overnight flight and from hiking a couple miles during the waterfall stops.
For our second day, after a stop at the black sand beach at Vik, we worked back north toward the "Golden Circle", or group of popular natural sights within an hour or two from Reykjavik. These included Gulfoss Waterfall, large geysers at Geysir, thermal pools at Laugarvatn, and the wild geology at Thingvellir National Park, where we car camped. We had planned on tent camping, but the wind, temps in the 30s before windchill, and icy rain scared us too much. Luckily the Dacia's rear seat could fold down, and we spent the night relatively comfortably in our sleeping bags.
We roamed around Thingvellir first thing on the 6th. The fault line between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates is visible here, and it is a fascinating canyon. We drove toward the west coast from here, stopping in the small towns of Akranes and Borgarnes. The latter had a well-done settlement museum of Iceland's early history, when it was colonized by Norwegian Vikings. We continued north along the coast into the peninsula, looking for a campsite to stay in for the night. Most of them are not open until June, so we settled in the evening and called it a night.
The 7th was my favorite day of the trip. We got coffee in a small cafe in a tiny town called Arnarstapi toward the end of the peninsula, looked off its cliffs, and headed around the bend toward Vatnshellir lava cave. On this drive, we were distracted by an abandoned farmstead, cliffs, and a volcanic crater. In this part of the country, we would drive only a couple miles before we needed to pull off the road and see something else. At loose ends after finding the road to our next stop at a glacier still closed for the season, we headed toward the small, charming fishing town of Stykkisholmur. After seeing it's volcano museum, we inquired at a hostel about a room for the night and were happy to grab one to ourselves after two nights car camping. We were due for showers, and I couldn't quite stretch out in the Dacia. It was a good decision.
The next day took us to Reykjavik, with a stop in between at a noticeably unmarked waterfall. We had not seen any other natural landmarks that had not been well signed. Reykjavik has several museums and a large church that seems to also serve as a tourist landmark. We tried out a large thermal pool, and began to understand why these are to Iceland what the pubs are to Ireland: a central gathering space. We stayed at a perfect, and almost unbelievably priced Airbnb close to downtown. We stayed out late that evening, visiting with a couple from Minneapolis on a similar trip, and with an Icelandic lawyer with much more right wing opinions than I expected in a Scandinavian country. It was our latest night of the entire trip: even in early May, dusk isn't until 10:20, but it was still duskish at midnight.
Our last day, we saw the Culture House museum, which featured aspects of Icelandic history shown through art. Had we understood this better, we may have appreciated it more, but such as it was, much of it was over our heads. Fortified with a cup of coffee, we wandered the shops until we were due to head for the Blue Lagoon, Iceland's best known thermal pool. After our relaxing soak in its silica mud out in the one fully sunny day of the trip, we headed to our hotel in Keflavik, found our one large splurge meal of the trip, packed our stuff, and got ready for the trip home.
With the itinerary laid out, I will continue thoughts on the trip in a post to follow.
4/25/16
Wedding Weekend
For those that did not know, Sarah and I got married on April 23rd! It's still soaking in for both of us. It was a surreal experience to see all of our favorite people, many of whom traveled a long way to be with us, together in one place at the same time. It was a whirlwind weekend, but we were both glad of our foresight and experience in past weddings to know what to avoid and what to have hired done instead of stacking it on top of all our other obligations. We were busy but never too stressed, and got to focus on the important things.
The wedding was in Pella for several reasons even though neither of us were originally from here, but the best part was having the opportunity to show our friends and relatives where we've lived the last few years. This is especially important with our move to Montana looming on the horizon. I'll continue on that at a later time.
Highlights included:
Thanks again for everyone who made our day perfect!
The wedding was in Pella for several reasons even though neither of us were originally from here, but the best part was having the opportunity to show our friends and relatives where we've lived the last few years. This is especially important with our move to Montana looming on the horizon. I'll continue on that at a later time.
Highlights included:
- Almost twenty crazy guys from all over the place riding in the back of a horse trailer in camp chairs, ramming go-karts into each other over and over followed by barbecue, hitting nails into a stump (a game cleverly called "stump"), other shenanigans, and telling stories around a fire until way too late
- Shepherding a tour of about twenty people around my plant and office at work
- Watching things start to fall into the places we'd arranged for them at the rehearsal, followed by the dinner at Monarch's with even more people I hadn't seen in years. We even got Sarah's Grandma out on the town for a nightcap
- Finally seeing the moment we'd all been waiting for unfold smoothly
- Taylor Hallengren's great Matron-of-Honor speech, and my cousin Noah's once-in-a-lifetime Best Man speech. Not a whisper was spoken while he was speaking, and it seemed to make an impression on all. I will never forget that speech and how affected I was by it
- Having a perfect spring day to show off my new bride, take pictures, meet and greet even more of our favorite people, and have the best day ever.
- Robin Nossaman for filling in last minute on the piano after an emergency in my family. She and Bre Vogel did wonderful work for us!
- Jessica Hartwick, our talented photographer and the most patient person in the world
- Fr John Speigel, Patrice Langenfeld, Lynn Cooper, and Carol Laughlin for making the ceremony happen
- Our aunts and uncles, siblings and cousins (one in the same in both our families it seems) for being there without question, for being good sports, and for being good examples
- Our friends of all ages who thoroughly enjoyed themselves all weekend. We would have been disappointed if our wedding had not been a good time, so we were glad you all seemed to have as much fun as we did. Thanks to everyone for being there!
- Our parents for contributing so much to the day, including time, patience, advice, money, and support
Thanks again for everyone who made our day perfect!
2/16/16
Rawhide Workshop
I will start off this post by summarizing my third trip to Montana in the last four months or so. I was able to talk my way into helping territory manager Mark Prewett set up and work the MAGIE ag show in Great Falls in mid-January. Much of the help he would have normally gotten from various nearby dealerships was not to be had this year, including my dad who was only a couple weeks out of his second hip replacement. It was a productive, educational week, and I am glad I was able to help.
I suppose I am getting a little more serious about this braiding hobby of mine. Tyler Schiferl, whom I work with and who got me into braiding, let me know in December that the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City was having a rawhide braiding workshop in February. My interest was piqued when I heard who the two instructors were, professional rawhiders Leland Hensley from Meridian, Texas and Nate Wald from Lodge Grass, Montana; I knew this would not be a half-hearted attempt at a class. The workshop is on a rotation with other cowboy arts, so it would not be offered for another four years. I didn't hesitate to sign up.
It ran Tuesday through Friday, so I made the nine hour trip Monday after work. Tyler, unfortunately, had an obligation on Tuesday morning and wasn't able to leave until that afternoon, missing that day of class.
Thirteen other braiders attended, all of different experience levels. I was toward the green end, but so were several others. Except for one guy from Kentucky, Tyler and I lived the farthest east; this isn't a big surprise, given the western heritage of rawhiding. Many were from Texas and Oklahoma; one from Missouri, one from South Dakota, one from Nebraska, and one from Hawaii of all places. To my surprise, there were none from the west coast or Great Basin, where rawhide braiding is relatively common.
We all worked on various projects that we had going. This helped everyone go at their own pace and focus on what each of us needed to work on. Many of the other braiders were quite accomplished already, and were very willing to teach and offer advice. Leland and Nate were both wealths of knowledge, and I don't recall either of them being stumped by a single question all week.
I finished up a bosal I had started before the class that only needed a heel knot on the bottom. I was thoroughly schooled on the foundation this needed, and learned some of the finer points on this knot, which was one of my goals of the class. Leland also pointed out some of the fundamental flaws in my braiding, which I was able to work on and improve my feel with some higher quality material than I have been able to make.
I am glad to have gotten a firmer foundation on many aspects of rawhide, such as choosing hides, preparing them, cutting them up, and making strings. Of course I was a bit disappointed to have to rethink and restart almost everything I knew, but that beats having to learn the same lessons after more years of braiding.
Tyler and I both got reminders of how small the world is: he had met two of the other braiders years earlier. Another of them and I had common acquaintances in northeast Oklahoma, and I'd spent time in his home town on two different work trips.
The camaraderie was one of the best parts of the entire week. As far as I can tell, Tyler and I are the Pella braiding community. There might be others nearby, but I have no idea how to find them. Every day of the class started a bit before 9am, went until 4:30, then most of us reconvened around 6 for dinner and visiting until 9 or 10. We got a chance to spend twelve hours a day with world class braiders and many other generally top notch people. It adds an entirely different dimension to this hobby to be part of the community.
To add to this adventurous week, I came back to Iowa via Columbia, Missouri, and Sarah met me there Friday night. Some friends of ours who had moved to Texas a year ago were up for their 30th birthday. He had gone to Mizzou, thus the draw to Columbia. We were happy to partake in the festivities, and had a great time! Happy birthday, David!
We returned to Pella Sunday afternoon, after I'd driven 1270 miles round tip in my old (but reliable) truck. It was a very memorable week.
I suppose I am getting a little more serious about this braiding hobby of mine. Tyler Schiferl, whom I work with and who got me into braiding, let me know in December that the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City was having a rawhide braiding workshop in February. My interest was piqued when I heard who the two instructors were, professional rawhiders Leland Hensley from Meridian, Texas and Nate Wald from Lodge Grass, Montana; I knew this would not be a half-hearted attempt at a class. The workshop is on a rotation with other cowboy arts, so it would not be offered for another four years. I didn't hesitate to sign up.
It ran Tuesday through Friday, so I made the nine hour trip Monday after work. Tyler, unfortunately, had an obligation on Tuesday morning and wasn't able to leave until that afternoon, missing that day of class.
Thirteen other braiders attended, all of different experience levels. I was toward the green end, but so were several others. Except for one guy from Kentucky, Tyler and I lived the farthest east; this isn't a big surprise, given the western heritage of rawhiding. Many were from Texas and Oklahoma; one from Missouri, one from South Dakota, one from Nebraska, and one from Hawaii of all places. To my surprise, there were none from the west coast or Great Basin, where rawhide braiding is relatively common.
We all worked on various projects that we had going. This helped everyone go at their own pace and focus on what each of us needed to work on. Many of the other braiders were quite accomplished already, and were very willing to teach and offer advice. Leland and Nate were both wealths of knowledge, and I don't recall either of them being stumped by a single question all week.
I finished up a bosal I had started before the class that only needed a heel knot on the bottom. I was thoroughly schooled on the foundation this needed, and learned some of the finer points on this knot, which was one of my goals of the class. Leland also pointed out some of the fundamental flaws in my braiding, which I was able to work on and improve my feel with some higher quality material than I have been able to make.
I am glad to have gotten a firmer foundation on many aspects of rawhide, such as choosing hides, preparing them, cutting them up, and making strings. Of course I was a bit disappointed to have to rethink and restart almost everything I knew, but that beats having to learn the same lessons after more years of braiding.
Tyler and I both got reminders of how small the world is: he had met two of the other braiders years earlier. Another of them and I had common acquaintances in northeast Oklahoma, and I'd spent time in his home town on two different work trips.
The camaraderie was one of the best parts of the entire week. As far as I can tell, Tyler and I are the Pella braiding community. There might be others nearby, but I have no idea how to find them. Every day of the class started a bit before 9am, went until 4:30, then most of us reconvened around 6 for dinner and visiting until 9 or 10. We got a chance to spend twelve hours a day with world class braiders and many other generally top notch people. It adds an entirely different dimension to this hobby to be part of the community.
To add to this adventurous week, I came back to Iowa via Columbia, Missouri, and Sarah met me there Friday night. Some friends of ours who had moved to Texas a year ago were up for their 30th birthday. He had gone to Mizzou, thus the draw to Columbia. We were happy to partake in the festivities, and had a great time! Happy birthday, David!
We returned to Pella Sunday afternoon, after I'd driven 1270 miles round tip in my old (but reliable) truck. It was a very memorable week.
1/5/16
Christmas '15
It's not very often that two consecutive posts are about trips home, that seems to be the case this time. I got rained out of a Florida testing trip earlier in December, and otherwise have not had any trips or particularly notable doings since October other than a bunch of braiding
After working through the 23rd in my case and the 24th in Sarah's, we spent Christmas morning in Pella and left for Sarah's Grandparents' midday to spend time with largely the same group that made the trek to Montana in July. We ate, played games, and exchanged white elephant gifts in the garage and had a good time.
Our flight out on Sunday evening missed some heavy snowstorms by less than a day, and we arrived with no trouble. We flew into Great Falls due to late ticket purchases, but weren't much inconvenienced.
Bozeman was first on the list Monday morning after a night at the ranch. Christmas is the only time of year I see Noah, Jean, Lydia, Emily and Sven, so I wanted to make the most of that. I am of course always glad to see Chris, Jim, and Grandma. This entailed good catching up time, wanderings around town, games, Star Wars, and good food. I wish I got to see them all more often.
Noticeably absent this trip were the usual house music session due to Tom and family being away, skiing for Sarah and I due to lack of time, and Alicia who spent Christmas in Florida with her fiance and his family. Coincidentally, had I gone to Florida, I'd have been within a half hour of them, but would have missed them by less than a week.
New Years was largely spent outside. Sarah and I sledded in the morning, skijored with Tim and Katy Peterson in the afternoon, and sparkler sledded with ACE in the evening. The Petersons and I had talked about skijoring (pulling a skier behind a horse) since before I moved to Iowa, but opportunities always seemed to literally melt away. This time around, the snow was perfect. With only women's boots handy, Katy and Sarah skied while I rode, and it was everything we imagined. No one even got hurt!
Sparkler sledding is exactly as it sounds; someone sat in a sled in Aaron and Court's driveway, and then was handed a lit sparkler to hold while sledding toward the street. Good thing this was the last night of the trip; who knows what we'd have been doing had we stayed!
Happy New Year!
After working through the 23rd in my case and the 24th in Sarah's, we spent Christmas morning in Pella and left for Sarah's Grandparents' midday to spend time with largely the same group that made the trek to Montana in July. We ate, played games, and exchanged white elephant gifts in the garage and had a good time.
Our flight out on Sunday evening missed some heavy snowstorms by less than a day, and we arrived with no trouble. We flew into Great Falls due to late ticket purchases, but weren't much inconvenienced.
Bozeman was first on the list Monday morning after a night at the ranch. Christmas is the only time of year I see Noah, Jean, Lydia, Emily and Sven, so I wanted to make the most of that. I am of course always glad to see Chris, Jim, and Grandma. This entailed good catching up time, wanderings around town, games, Star Wars, and good food. I wish I got to see them all more often.
Noticeably absent this trip were the usual house music session due to Tom and family being away, skiing for Sarah and I due to lack of time, and Alicia who spent Christmas in Florida with her fiance and his family. Coincidentally, had I gone to Florida, I'd have been within a half hour of them, but would have missed them by less than a week.
New Years was largely spent outside. Sarah and I sledded in the morning, skijored with Tim and Katy Peterson in the afternoon, and sparkler sledded with ACE in the evening. The Petersons and I had talked about skijoring (pulling a skier behind a horse) since before I moved to Iowa, but opportunities always seemed to literally melt away. This time around, the snow was perfect. With only women's boots handy, Katy and Sarah skied while I rode, and it was everything we imagined. No one even got hurt!
Sparkler sledding is exactly as it sounds; someone sat in a sled in Aaron and Court's driveway, and then was handed a lit sparkler to hold while sledding toward the street. Good thing this was the last night of the trip; who knows what we'd have been doing had we stayed!
Happy New Year!
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